Hereís my Rating System:Recommended:!Itís Aiight: .Maybe If Youíre Into That Sort of Thing:?The Ken Chronicles #29Rating: !!! Price: $3, fair trade, or letter of commentKen Bausert2140 Erma DriveEast Meadow, NY 11554-1120PassScribe@aol.comKen Bausert's the Ken Chronicles #29 is surprising. And that's because it's not that surprising at first glance: There's a story about his new bed. A photo of a duck in a parking lot. Price considerations on a trip to visit friends celebrating their 50th anniversary. On the surface, the Ken Chronicles captures the everyday existence of a retired guy on Long Island. And it does, right down to his excitement about a great deal on McMuffins.

But Ken's everyday is anything but mundane. In his concerned musings about the problems with his new memory foam bed, and in dealing with a wasp nest in the storage shed, we meet a man who is passionate about living his best possible life. In Ken's world, that sometimes means figuring out a way to vent air conditioner output away from the hot tub, or finding a plank for the back deck that is both economical and resilient. In Ken's world, we experience joie de vivre in that parking lot duck--framed so perfectly by parking stripes, and damn if he's not handsome. Ken likes to do nice things for his wife, Ro. Right now, he's concerned about her side of the new bed, half-plush and maybe causing her some back problems. I'm sure we'll see a solution in the next issue, and maybe some more tidbits from the World War II-era yearbook his daughter gave him as a Father's Day gift!the Ken Chronicles is produced quarterly, on-the-spot. It's always with an impressive cover wrap photo by Ken, taken somewhere on his travels. There's also a pleasing color center spread (in this issue, that's where you'll meet the parking lot duck). the Ken Chronicles #29 truly captures life's simple pleasures. Take a breather and enjoy it.